Success Stories

★How I made my first million ★

Otolorin Kehinde Peter, known as Kenny Blaq, is a popular and reputable comedian and artiste.
His driving force has been his environment, where he comes from and the people around him. Kenny tended to have a lot of people around him that believed that a person can only be successful when they have money, connections or do things illegally. 

Meanwhile, Kenny wanted the opposite. One of the things that kept him going, was the desire to make his family proud. To do things differently than his friends were doing. His major force, has been the yearning to be a good example to others.

His background didn't look very positive. After secondary, Kenny knew that all he wanted to do was become and artiste and entertainer. Performing in events, and keeping people entertained while getting paid. But, actualizing his dreams weren't as easy as it sounded. It took sacrifice and hardwork. There were days when it didn't work in his favor. Sometimes, the results he expected wouldn't be what was gotten. 

Despite the hardwork he might have put into that performance. Of course, his friends and close associates thought he was crazy. A young guy who had his life ahead of him, decided to branch out and become a comedian. They questioned his choices, and so did his parents. Kenny's parents were worried about the kind of lifestyle he would live, if he became one of the top dogs in the entertainment industry. Kenny had to promise, that he would be better and not one of the typical artistes or entertainers.

At some point, he felt like giving up. With all the challenges along the way, his dreams now looked like an impossible feat. Sometimes, he got booed off the stage. And other times, he didn't have the strength to trek the long distance before getting to the event. People weren't even interested in paying to watch him perform because his jokes had become monotonous. But, everytime he wanted to give up a new inspiration pops up. It could be a new joke, or a new idea.

 
Music has also been a major inspiration for Kenny Blaq. On days when it seemed like there was mo hope, listening to music would help to keep his hope alive. Music also helped with his career. Rather than doing just comedy, he decided to branch into music comedy. It was a different aspect that helped him to earn recognition.

Kenny made his first million naira about five years ago. It was for an end of the year event, and he was called to perform. Before then, his rate was between 150-400k. That was because most people weren't willing to pay more than that. But for some reason, he was advised to ask for 1.5 million naira instead of the regular thousands of naira. The organizers said they couldn't pay up to that, but eventually both parties settled on one million. Kenny described the feeling as surreal. He couldn't believe that someone was willing to pay that much for his craft, and hustle. He wasn't even in the limelight then, but someone didn't mind and still paid that much.

That event opened doors to more jobs and events for him. Now, one million is way less than he would charge.

His greatest accomplishment, was his show at Eko Hotel. Prior to that day, a lot of people questioned why he wanted to do a show at Eko hotel. They believed that he wasn't reputable enough to pull off a show there, and it wouldn't work out well. But, on that day, the story changed. Two hours before the show, all the tickets had been sold out. Yet, the people outside were more than those inside. A lot of people went home upset that they weren't able to purchase a ticket. People of affluence and influence were in attendance, and Kenny saw that as the beginning of his spotlight.

 
According to Kenny, he would rather describe his success as grace, not luck. Luck didn't find him. Grace worked its way into his life.


★Fashion and styling in Nigeria ★

Jane Michael Ekanem is an award winning fashion stylist, and a reputable young woman in the fashion industry. Many people would see her success today, and wonder if it took hardwork for her to get to where she is today. Jane says that, it's not easy. It has not been easy, and would still not be easy. Of course, she has been through some things in order to get to where she is today. But, Jane sees all of that as a part of life. Afterall, you can't have a testimony without a test of time. You need to go through the process.

 
She started off in the fashion industry simply as a result of her passion. Then, Jane did most of her work for free. She would sell some clothes, and go from office to office teaching people how to wear these clothes. She didn't know that she was styling then, it was just a passion. Unlike now, Jane has monetized on the said passion. Back in the day, she had a partner and both of them transitioned into becoming professional stylists. They were the stylists for the show “MTN Project Fame”, and it helped them to see the line of business as something more professional.

 
Moving into becoming professionals as at the time they started, was quite easy. Luckily for them, there weren't many stylists them. You could count the number of them, unlike now where there are hundreds of fashion stylists. What set Jane and her partner above the rest, was their willingness to work. The were ready, and willing to do the work. Contradictory to their competitors, who simply acted like divas without wanting to do much. Not everybody would be willing to make the sacrifices she has made or even go through the stress she went through.

 
Most of the time, people focus on the glam and extravagant lifestyle without wanting to see the hardwork behind it. Jane has also had her fair share of challenges. She has been in the industry for over 13 years, and has also had some ups and downs along the way. There had been times when she wanted to quit, give up and never look back. But, thankfully she didn't. Things might still be a bit difficult, but it's easier and more tolerable.

 
Everything Jane has been doing evolved around creating. She always wanted to be more than just Jane Michael. She wanted to be something more, someone that people would look to up and admire. There's is always something to be done, and she tries to do it. At the end of the day, Jane ended up touching lives in the process. Which is quite admirable.

 
To Jane, her mistakes define her. Every single mistake she has made so far, serves as a testament for her success. For all her mistakes, there are lessons. And one of the lessons is that communication is key. For upcoming and aspiring stylists, they need to learn to communicate with their clients. There's a need to ask questions, and understand what their clients are comfortable with. The clients makes up the industry, and it's important to put then into consideration always.

 
In ten years time, Jane would like to have retired and still be making money. She doesn't have a definite plan for where she is going to be, ten years from now. But, she hopes it's somewhere comfortable, where she can do her own thing.

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What IF…? – The Inside Story (Part 4)

The United States made a prediction that Russian soldiers would invade Ukraine on the 16th of Februrary, 2022. But the day ended without any invasion. So, it seems the U.S was raising unnecessary alarm or overblowing the alarm. But to justify their claim, they said Russian attack is still imminent. And while President Putin said his army are pulling back and de-escalating the Ukraine border, Biden said Putin is adding more military. So, who do we believe? Biden or Putin?

In this case, let’s consider 3 scenarios.

1. What IF what they are both saying is true? or

2. What IF what they are both saying is false? or

3. What IF one is true and the other is false?

So, let’s analyze them more critically.

1. What If They Are Both True?

The U.S has a strong intelligence and monitoring system that could know what is going on in Russia-Ukraine border, and for Biden to say more Russian soldiers are building up around the border could mean he has an evidence. If his evidence is true, it could mean Putin is trying to deceive the public so that he would launch the attack when no one is expecting. But if what Putin is saying is also true, it could mean he’s looking for the alternative to resolve the conflict without using war. But one thing is sure, he would not surrender his wish to the U.S, and he would not leave his territory into the hands of his enemies.

2. What If They Are Both False?

This could all be political propaganda. Both deceiving each other, and trying to play into each others’ hands. Biden may keep raising alarm to sell more weapons and do business. Putin may keep easing the tension to achieve his goals clandestinely. They both might have ulterior motives with their statements which are far different from what they are saying in the public. However, they may both hurt each other on the long run if they are both playing pranks.

3. What If One Is True And the Other Is False?

This is most likely. Biden might be false and Putin is true or Putin might be false and Biden is true. If the former is the case, it means Biden is a hypocrite who just want to make economic gains out of the whole Ukraine-Russia conflict. And he’s also reaching out to his allies who have business deals with Russia to increase their economic sanctions, so that Russia would give-in and buy-in to their western agenda. He wants to increase his east European influence so that he can have more supporters at his back to fight against China.

 

Ultimately, China is main deal. It is the major threat to U.S by far, both in military and economy, and also in democracy. So, the bid is all to garner more allies and defeat its number one enemy.

If on the other hand, Putin is the fibster, it would mean he’s trying to use guerilla warfare on Ukraine. He wants everyone to go to sleep while his army would suddenly attack Ukraine and take over the government. But it seems Putin is finding alternatives to solve his problems. He doesn’t want to take a chance with the West. So, he’s willing to extend his territory or at worst, maintain it. So, he’s giving it all it takes.

Meanwhile, all these are political scenarios which may play out or not. What we hope is that the conflict would not just be de-escalated but resolved finally so that there would not be any emergency cases in the future. And Ukraine would be at peace and the people would be at rest, and there would progress and development in our nations.

Why Africa Is Still So Poor (The Untold Story)

Africa is known for its poverty, but a lot of people don't know what led to this state. Some would think that it is because of colonization, corruption or foreign independence. There used to be a time when African countries were rich, like in the 14th century. Many would conclude that Africa has no history asides from that about mommies and pyramids.

 
On the contrary, Africa is much involved in history, as any other country in Europe. In the 14th and 15th century, Africa's property began to fall behind gap, from the rest of the world. This was caused by two different external forces, two empires. One needed slaves, and the easiest way to get those slaves was from East Africa. So, they would go into war with countries in the Eastern African. This slave trade process continued till the 19tu century.

The second empire, was the Western European empire. A similar thing was also happening with them. They began by going to Africa, to trade items. Soon, it escalated into taking a stop in Africa, whenever they were going to Asia. Later on, they went to East Asia and saw the Indie Americans. Afterwards, they set up colonies.

The system of government of the people in the East Asia was the same as that of the Europeans. Which involved the noble system of knights, dukes, peasants. There was slight hitch, the peasants were dying. And, a dying peasant, is an unproductive one. So, they needed to find a replacement, and dived into West African slave trade. Although, the kind of slave isn't the same way people think of it to be. Those slaves had rights, and a family structure. Sadly, African countries were happy to sell slaves to the Europeans because their gold mines were drying up during that time.

The African countries willing to sell slaves, would go into war with other African countries in order to get more slaves to sell. At that time, this seemed like a good deal for African leaders. They would weaken their rivals, and earn money at the same time. Soon, the slave market evolved from a market where slaves had rights, to one where people were stripped of their rights and sold to the highest bidder. 

Slave traders would come to the continent, and go with as many slaves as possible for them to be sold to the Americans. These slaves would work their backs out. The slave traders also sold raw materials from Africa to the Europeans, who would use it to produce manufactured goods. The profit from this, would be used to buy more slaves.

It was a good deal for everybody, except the slaves. The Americans received slaves, the Europeans received raw materials, and the West Africans received manufactured goods. While the plight of the slaves remained not an issue to them. Whenever the Americans tried to take slaves by force, it would fail because Africans were still very strong. Over the centuries these African empires collapsed into different walls, and they were more than willing to sell their former slave partners as slaves to the Americans. 

So, as their empires rose and fell, there were always merchants wanting to buy slaves. As the Europeans found more colonies in America, more slaves were needed. Unfortunately, these had a long term effect on the economy of Africa. While European, Asian and American industries developed, African industries stagnated. And soon, they could no longer compete with the rest of the world. The African industries soon became unimportant and small. Yet, the Africans continued to go along with this because, they couldn't invest in industries and had to protect themselves. 

That was where all the economy was being diverted to. It didn't take long for the African economy to decline, while the people who bought slaves were having a better, more effective economy.
The Europeans and Americans continued to buy these slaves because it was opportunity for them to earn profits. These profits came at the expense of the long term wealth of Africans. With most of the people involved, not realizing this. When a region becomes weak, a stronger region would exploit from them.

 
In the 19th century, suddenly, African slave traders started to lose customers. This was because, Slave trade was becoming illegal around the world. For Africa, this became a problem because the economy of Africa relied on this slave trade. Since they didn't build up their industries because of the slave trade, they lost their main source of income. Africans could no longer buy many of the tools they relied on.

The 2nd significant event to happen in the 19th century was industrialization. Americans and Europeans, were starting to produce more than any other part of the world. Africa became very insignificant to them by the middle of the 19th century. This was when they started to see the worst in Africa, and spoke about their lack of culture, no system of government. Racist beliefs were also started. People now had little or no interest in Africa, as Africa had nothing to offer.

 
The third major event, was the ability for Americans and Europeans to carry heavy equipment across the sea. Before industrial revolution, it would have not being possible. But, with new technology it became easier and profitable. That was when the leader in Belgium, decided that Belgium should have a colony. Of course, Africa was available and now weak. So, once again the strong took advantage of the weak. Soon, all other European countries joined in to take over Africa to build their colonies.

 
There were major significant effects of the colonization. The first, was that it created a worse economy for Africans. They were driven out of the most fertile regions and given plantation to work on, while the colonial masters owned the profits. Most of the taxes paid by the Africans were rarely used to better their lives, but to make life worse for them.

 
The European colonizers were only interested in the exploitation of resources in Africa. Also, the infrastructure created by the Europeans in Africa, was simply to make exporting raw materials out of the continent convenient. None of it was made for the improvement of Africans.

 
After world War 2, Africans started demanding for their Independence. Protests, riots and rebellion was brought up. Until the Europeans realized that a few million European couldn't control more than 200 million Africans. Between 1945-1975, almost all African countries became independent. Africans thought that if Africans ruled Africa, then wealth would follow suit. But, this didn't happen.

 
History has shown that former colonies that some become developed, such as Ireland, New Zealand and South Korea. Yet, not a single African country can be called developed. This is because of the way that the colonizers left Africa. They left Africa with no skills, no connection to fellow African countries, and no good economy. There was no way to bring prosperity to African countries, but at the same time, the independent leaders of Africa promised to bring prosperity to Africa.

 
To fufil this promise, most African countries adopted an economic socialism system. The leaders hoped it would work, and help to build industries. But, it didn't. The restrictions didn't aid trade between African countries. Since no one was willing to buy, the industries couldn't flourish. Secondly, a centrally planned economy would have more difficulty in succeeding the market, rather than other economies, which has different industries competing with each other. 

So a combination of trade restrictions, inefficient government, lack of education, harsh environment and diseases meant that the system was doomed to fail from the very beginning. There was simply no way for African countries to reach wealth at that time, because of the underdeveloped countries they inherited from their colonizers.

 
Despite the fact that economic socialism was a terrible system of governance, African leaders chose it, because that was the same method that their colonizers used. For them to switch to a free market system, they would need skilled workers and entrepreneurs and they didn't have it at that time.

This simply explained why Africa didn't get rich immediately after independence. But, after a few decades it should have been easy to build a better economy because, by that time African citizens would have quality education and skills. Yet, it didn't happen. This can be traced to the corruption of Post independence African leaders. Most African countries adopted a democratic system, but it wasn't functional because it was a recent system. 

Due to this reason, politics became an affair in which the aspiring politicians focused on specific ethnic groups. Focusing on one ethnic group over the rest, divided Africans further. To prevent this, a single party system was created. But, over the years, the elites now dominated the party. Which wasn't much different from what happened when they were colonized. The elite Europeans dominated them, and then the Elite Africans dominated them afterwards. Still, the leaders were afraid of being overtaken during coups so they diverted the economy. The money meant for development of the country was diverted to pay government workers and keep them happy enough not to start a coup.

At some point, corruption dug in deeper than everybody expected. Any company that wanted to run a successful business using raw materials, would have to pay the elites in exchange for it. Of course, that was bribery and with nobody to curb this excesses, it continued. Bribery became a huge problem in Africa, and the people weren't gaining from it. Companies would exploit their materials, pay the elites and they wouldn't get any profit, despite being the owners. 

The people saw what was happening, and started to rebel and protest. With no strong military system, African countries had to request for aid from their former colonizers. They would provide their military aid in exchange for raw materials. 40 coups happened in Africa within two decades of their independence. 

Soon, Africa was termed to have unstable governments. So unstable that, nobody was interested in investing in Africa. The problem was that, Africa was grouped as one single country. People didn't realize that there are different countries. For example, when someone hears about war in a part of Nigeria, they see it as war in a war filled zone. With that kind of instability, they didn't want to invest. If only they realized that the wars didn't affect the economic system, and it wasn't as bad as it was exaggerated to be.

In the 1980's education became better, more citizens became skilled, and politics was a more tolerable affair. Which was important because 3 major even happened during that time. The first was that, the infrastructure built by the colonizers was slowly depleting. Secondly, the little population in the continent that was educated, would move to better countries with a higher pay. This brain drain, made Africa to lose its best and most useful citizens. 

Lastly, the soviet union decided to stop being a part of the cold war. So they stopped sending aides to their African allies. In turn, Western countries decided that they were also going to stop sending much money to African allies. All these affected the economy greatly. Quickly, African leaders no longer had enough money to keep themselves in power with the system of bribes.

With no choice, African countries went to Western countries requesting for financial aids. But, they were no longer interested in the materials in Africa, and couldn't provide this aid directly. Instead, they requested that there should privatization of industries in Africa, making it easier for countries to invest. African leaders tried to be sneaky, and pretended to privatize the industries. Rather, they would collect bribes in exchange for access to African markets. Everything still revolved around bribes, meaning nothing changed. Except that this time, Western industries supported this by rewarding foreign dictators with foreign aid packages.

Africa remained poor till 1989, which was when there were different protests around the world. Including Africa. Once again, Africans were protesting against their leaders. So, the western investors had to change tactics. Instead of giving bribes for fake privatization, they would pay African countries for reforming their government and solidifying democracy. This new changes, made African dictators to face 2 problems at once. 

Firstly, their own people were getting restless and secondly, their income was reducing. Smartly, the dictators decided to reform the government only a little. But, enough to pacify the people, and impress the rich western countries. At least, democracy spread across Africa. Even though it wasn't completely fair and just. It still remained better than complete dictatorship.

The leaders in the 1990's, had to fight against corruption, in order to build a better system. They laid down policies that made Africans more involved in the activities of their countries. Also, international organizations such as African Union {AU} was established, to foster unity among African nations. Trade restrictions were lifted, and more things were set in place for a better economy. It has helped Africa to grow rapidly, and there has been progressive changes.

Finally, the 21st century. It's still too early to come up with any analysis. But, there are still many issues facing Africa. Africa countries are the least prepared for climate change, a 3rd of all children are malnourished. And, a 3rd of all children don't finish high school. Extremists find it easy to recruit the vast amount of poor unemployed people. Pandemics are common among the continent, with covid being just one among many. African countries are looking at the successes of East Asian countries, and adopting their policies. 

This is the creation of more industries, good agricultural system and tech companies. A new generation of Africans are entering into the market, and are better educated, and skilled than any other generation before. With these hardworking entrepreneurs, the government has allowed a free market where it is easier to run an industry.

If the development in Africa continues, then it can finally bring an end to the systematic poverty that has plagued the continent for years. Africans are not only hopeful for the future, but for the first time since colonization, have the tools to get to the future they desire.

Is World War 3 Imminent? The Inside Story (Part 3)

Maybe you’ve asked yourself – "Are we going into World War 3? With all the news and drums of war looming everywhere."

The world will always be ruled by those who have powers. Those who don’t would be spectators or slaves. And at this time, it is not just good to sit and watch. It is important to learn so as to be relevant and understand how the world game is played.

Somebody said – “why are you discussing politics?” I said “because politics affects many things you do.” He said “how?” I said “just look at what you do now, and you will see politics.” 

I guess what people don’t want to discuss is how bad the politicians are, not the politics itself. Because I have found out that because of this negligence attitude, a lot of people are ignorant about politics and just leave things in the hands of people who they think are not good.

If you want to change something, the best way to go about it is to first educate yourself about that thing before you change it. Politics is not bad, but the people who play it may be. Politics is not a one-man show or something for just some group of people, but politics is for everybody, because it affects everybody.

Take for instance, if the President of your country decides to increase the pump price of gas today, won’t it affect every citizen of your country? No matter how you want to seclude yourself from politics, it would affect you one way or the other. 

If there is political conflict like what we have now between Russia and Ukraine, won’t it affect every sector? Practically every sector would feel the heat, including the educational sector, health, economy, security, infrastructure, business, entertainment, name it! Every sector would definitely be affected. This is more reason why you should keep yourself abreast of what is going on in your country and be educated about politics. We cannot overemphasize this.

Now to the current situation of what is happening between Ukraine and Russia. It is now clear that Ukraine wants to detach itself from Russia and wants to claim its sovereignty by all means. Being an independent country, it has the right to make its own decision by itself and choose whatever group or organization it wishes to join. 

But Russia, on the other hand, is saying "Ukraine is my little sister, and I don’t want to leave her to my opponent."

More so, when this could consequentially lead Russia to spending more money on military and defence, because if NATO should be at its neighborhood, it would have to increase its military strength, so as to prepare for any imminent attack.

By and large, this is a political stalemate and both countries are at a critical crossroads. But what we hope is that they would reach a compromise that would favor both parties. It may not make sense to settle the conflict with war.

Nobody wants war. But the truth is, sometimes some people want to fight to claim their right or show who is superior. But we hope this current conflict between Russia and Ukraine won’t lead to war and they would both settle the matter amicably.

We want better nations. We want better people.

Here is what Sophia, one Ukrainian lady said about Russia-Ukraine conflict - https://youtu.be/_z9RZtZoi_k

Read the previous article here: https://sopiensofgod.blogspot.com/2022/02/what-would-happen-if-russia-invades.html

Share Your Comments!

To order for my new book on HOW TO BECOME AN AUTHOR, follow this link: https://www.amazon.com/HOW-BECOME-AUTHOR-Easiest-Write-ebook/dp/B09F3VZ242/ref=sr_1_11?dchild=1&keywords=how+to+become+an+author&qid=1631326002&sr=8-11

Suggested Articles: 

1) 15 Reasons Why You Must Have Your Own Book: https://sopiensofgod.blogspot.com/2020/09/15-reasons-why-you-must-have-your-own.html

2) You've Got to Document Your Life: https://sopiensofgod.blogspot.com/2020/11/youve-got-to-document-your-life.html

3) Your Life Is A Principle: https://sopiensofgod.blogspot.com/2020/09/your-life-is-principle.html

What Would Happen If Russia Invades Ukraine – The Inside Story (Part 2)

I recently watched a documentary where the narrator described how invading Ukraine would look like. He said Russian troops would surround Ukraine borders that are close to Russia and Russian allies and use military power to win the state, and gradually penetrate inside to win more states till it reach the capital city, Kiev to install a pro-russian President. 

By that means, Russia would make Ukraine a Federal Republic where each state would be independent and power would be decentralized from the capital city, Kiev. And so, Ukraine would no longer be a sovereign state, but each state would have its own sovereign leadership and if it is overruled by Russian army, it would be pro-russian. 

So, Ukraine would be split into parts. Some part would belong to Russia, and some part would belong to Western Europe. 

Though, that might sound like a herculean task, it is not impossible. 

Perhaps, what Russian troop would most likely want to do is to make the western community realize that they are overstepping their boundary. And it’s better to keep to their business. And don’t think of Ukraine, joining NATO or EU, because they don’t want them as their neighbors. 

But NATO and EU kept insisting that every nation has its own right to decide what it wants. Probably, Russia might not have bothered if Ukraine wasn’t its neighbor or share some crucial ties with it. But that's not the case. NATO and EU want to play Ukraine into the hands of Russia. Instead of them settling the matter amicably, they are showing their egos and Veto powers and threatening Russia with sanctions.

I'm not pro-Russia or pro-EU, but I'm pro-justice. Let there be justice and fairness in everything. We need to understand from the two sides if we want to solve the problem. Everybody is selfish in their own way, but we can manage that selfishness to let it not harm other people. 

The matter is not yet late. Again, what we hope is that, the matter would be resolved amicably, and both parties would reach a comprise that would favor the citizens of both countries and the entire world. 

We don't need war against each other. We need war against poverty, pandemics and pollutions in our environment, which is causing serious climate change. 

Read the previous article here: https://sopiensofgod.blogspot.com/2022/01/what-does-putin-want-from-ukraine.html

Share Your Comments!

To order for my new book on HOW TO BECOME AN AUTHOR, follow this link: https://www.amazon.com/HOW-BECOME-AUTHOR-Easiest-Write-ebook/dp/B09F3VZ242/ref=sr_1_11?dchild=1&keywords=how+to+become+an+author&qid=1631326002&sr=8-11

Suggested Articles: 

1) 15 Reasons Why You Must Have Your Own Book: https://sopiensofgod.blogspot.com/2020/09/15-reasons-why-you-must-have-your-own.html

2) You've Got to Document Your Life: https://sopiensofgod.blogspot.com/2020/11/youve-got-to-document-your-life.html

3) Your Life Is A Principle: https://sopiensofgod.blogspot.com/2020/09/your-life-is-principle.html